


calm me down (you're the only one who knows how)

by catarara



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon-Typical Violence, Eating Disorders, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mental Health Issues, My First Fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 11:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10555646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catarara/pseuds/catarara
Summary: mac gets angry five times and dennis calms him down and one time mac calms dennis down





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic ever, and i'm actually only on like season 3 of iasip, so sorry for any mistakes  
> title from "skeleton" by the front bottoms

i.   
dennis figures out in high school what his voice does to mac. what his touch does to mac.

it starts out as a normal day, as normal as it gets for the gang. mac and dennis and charlie are getting high in dennis’ car behind the high school when dee calls. dennis lets it ring a couple times before picking up, flipping open his cell. dee’s squawking fills the car, despite not even being on speaker. mac groans, and charlie covers his ears.

“hey dickweed! you said you would let me get high with you next time!”

“did i? i don’t recall,” dennis drawls, mac snickers in the background.

“i heard that!” dee shrieks, “tell your boyfriend to shut the fuck up. i’m on my way to the parking lot now.” dee abruptly hangs up, not giving dennis a chance to respond, how dare she, really.

mac hears this of course, getting red in the face, and dennis sighs, “mac-”

“boyfriend? i’m not gay! that bitch-” mac’s voice increases in volume and his hands start to clench. mac moves to get out of the car. dennis thinks about letting mac beat the shit out of dee for hanging up on him, but also thinks as satisfying as dee with a black eye would be, his drug dealer being suspended for fighting would not be entertaining.

dennis leans over just as mac pulls the door handle, and whispers mac’s name, placing his hand on the hand gripping the handle. mac stills for a few seconds and then turns slowly to look at dennis.

“it’s not worth it, bro. not on school grounds, anyway. just stay in the car. we’ll drop charlie off,” mac turns to look at charlie, seeming to have forgotten he was there, “and we’ll just drive away, she’ll have to walk home.”

mac nods. dennis continues, “it’ll be funny, imagine her waddling home.” dennis gives mac a wicked grin. mac responds fully, a smile widening on his face as well.

“like a robot duck, dude!”

ii.  
dennis wants to test how far his effect extends on mac, just in case, because really? having an attack dog only dennis can control just proves his status as a higher power. he quickly realizes dee is a surefire way to make mac angry, especially when it involves attacks on mac’s heterosexuality.

dennis casually eggs dee and mac into a fight one night in charlie’s basement. charlie is oblivious, having already passed out fifteen minutes before from huffing glue. dennis is only tipsy, not wanting to get drunk before he tests his experiment. dee, however is drunk, and mac is not too far behind her.

dee says something, dennis not even paying attention, fires back anyway, “shut up, big bird.” mac starts to laugh, a deep sound that makes dennis smile without even realizing.

mac takes time to catch his breath but finally gets out, “big bird? oh man, den, that was perfect!”

dee huffs and screeches out, “at least i’m not a sexually repressed freak who gets it up to bodybuilding magazines!”

mac is on top of her in a matter of seconds, hands wrapped around her throat. 

dennis calmly walks over and grabs mac’s shoulders and pulls him back. mac releases his grip and dennis starts using soothing words, rubbing mac’s back.

“hey, baby boy,” dennis notices the subtle let go of tension in mac’s body when he says that nickname, “it’s okay, just focus on my voice.”

dennis keeps talking, sliding his hands down mac’s arms to his wrists, feeling the slowing pulse. mac’s breathing slows, and distantly they can hear dee coughing and crying, before she gets up and runs upstairs.

iii.  
dennis steals mac’s “girlfriend” and watches as mac gets mad at him for the first time.

really, dennis was sort of hoping for this outcome. he doesn’t actually care about mary (carrie? terry?), but mac does. mac has been aiming for this girl for at least two weeks, and the girl responded to his advances, so dennis swooped in quickly. if mac got attached to someone who was not dennis, then that wouldn’t be good. it wasn’t a part of dennis’ plan for mac.

it was too easy, the girl (charity! really, a stripper name mac? poor taste) instantly fell for dennis’ good looks and baby blue-green eyes. she swooned right into his bed, and dennis carefully orchestrates a plan. 

mac would call, which he always does, and charity would pick up, and then mac would be devastated and come crawling back to dennis.

mac does call and the ringing wakes charity, and dennis asks her, eyelashes fluttering, trailing a finger down her stomach, “could you pick that up for me?”

she gasps as his fingers go lower, and politely answers the phone, “dennis’s phone, this is charity,” another gasp, “um, now’s not the best time, so call back later plea-” she moans.

dennis hears mac making incoherent noises and knows he’s sufficiently angry enough, especially after mac booms his name. dennis snatches the phone away, flipping it shut, and removing his fingers from charity.

she looks confused and slightly startled and dennis raises a brow, “well, i guess you better go.” she still looks confused, and he makes shooing movements with his hands, “bye, you know where the door is.”

she gets an ugly shade of red and is out in less than two minutes, which is good. dennis lies naked in his bed, waiting for mac. a few minutes later. a banging sounds on his door, before it slams open. darn, dennis really wanted to see if mac would bust it down.

mac rushes into his bedroom, endearingly red and out of breath, and starts yelling. 

“what the fuck, dennis! did you seriously fuck charity! you knew how i felt about her!”

“i saved you some trouble really, she was barely a 2 in bed.” and at that mac lunges for dennis, climbing on top of him. mac raises a fist, and the sheets covering dennis are pulled down, and mac realizes the situation he is in. his hand shakes a bit as his eyes graze over the exposed upper half of dennis’ body. mac reels back likes he’s been shocked and stutters.

“um, d-den, what are you wearing?”

“nothing, as i was just busy fucking someone.”

just like that, mac is in full rage mode again and gets in dennis’ space, lifting his arm, ready to punch dennis. dennis leans forward until their noses touch, and mac’s eyes flutter. dennis reaches his hand to mac’s arm, fingers brushing his bicep, and watches as mac’s breath shudders.

“hey, baby boy, you’re not really mad at me, right? i was just protecting you, okay?”

mac’s teeth clench, but takes the bait, “from what?”

“from getting hurt. if she was so willing to sleep with me, then what’s stopping her from getting in other guys’s pants? she’d just hurt you, baby boy, she wasn’t good enough for you.”

“you mean that?” mac’s breathing slows considerably, and their noses are still touching. dennis slides his hand from mac’s bicep to meet fingertips to fingertips, carefully interlocking their hands.

“would i ever lie to you, baby boy?” dennis punctuates the nickname by licking his lips.

and just like that, all the tension has disappeared from mac’s body.

iv.  
charlie and frank are the ones to set off mac the next time, which is a bit of surprise. it’s over something small, really, but dennis likes to exercise his control over mac whenever the opportunity presents itself.

the gang (minus dee) are trying out democracy in decisions involving the bar when thick versus thin limes comes up.

charlie, now beside frank, starts screaming, “people will choke! people will die!”

the argument continues for a bit before mac rages. “i’m gonna put my thumb through your eye, you little bitch!” mac yells, his forehead creasing and his breath heaving. dennis touches mac, almost second nature, shushing him.

“no, no, no, shhh, calm, stay calm,” dennis runs his hand down the back of mac’s head, petting him, “hey, hey, hey, look at me, stay calm with me.” 

mac immediately is calm, looking at dennis like he’s the only one there. mac shakes himself out and they refocus on frank and charlie. it’s like mac’s rage never happened, except for the wary looks barely perceptible from frank and charlie. they’ve seen the control dennis has over mac. dennis doubts mac’s ability to actually take someone out, but at this point, mac would probably do anything for dennis. mac needs dennis, and dennis smirks inwardly, pleased with the relationship that has taken years to develop.

v.   
the next (many) time(s) are too easy for dennis.

dennis doesn’t have to test mac anymore but sometimes it’s still fun, seeing what riles mac up and what’s the fastest way to calm him down.

it’s a cycle and the rest of the gang remains oblivious, or at the very least, ignores it. someone says or does something, usually arranged by dennis, mac gets angry, and dennis calms him down with gentle words and an affectionate “baby boy” with intimate touches. 

one time, dennis pretends to get stood up, to see if mac will get angry on his behalf. predictably, he does. mac begins to throw karate moves out passionately, huffing, “who was it, den? i’ll kick their ass.”

dennis shrugs, “just some guy.”

mac’s moves falter, then renew themselves with even more force.

“a guy, huh?” mac seethes, and dennis knows it’s jealousy that’s surrounding mac right now. mac will never admit it, but dennis knows mac is in love with him.

“just an experiment i wanted to try,” mac slows his movements to a stop, relaxing at the words “experiment”. dennis continues, “guess he wasn’t much of man. you’re much manlier, hell, dee’s manlier than that guy.”

dennis eyes mac and mac smiles, moving closer at the compliment, “well nothing can compare to me, bro, i am, like, the manliest dude in philly.”

“of course, baby boy,” dennis says, slinging an arm around mac’s shoulders, and mac preens.

+i.  
dennis hasn’t eaten in four days, and also a little bit delirious. it’s not as easy to starve himself anymore since he’s gotten older.

he’s sitting on the bathroom floor, eyes and cheeks gaunt, talking to the shadow perched on the bathtub edge, when mac walks in, nearly stumbling over him.

“dude, where have you been?! you didn’t show up to work today. frank and dee were pissed, man, and-” mac stops, looking closer at dennis’ empty stare and mumbling form, “are you okay?”

mac moves to sit down on the edge of the bathtub, and the shadow’s wispy form is gone like smoke. dennis shrieks, or tries to. he tips forward and mac catches him, hands under dennis’ armpits. mac lets dennis settle back down before reaching up to hold his face.

“you’re not looking too good, den, when’s the last time you ate?”

“a couple of days ago...i think,” dennis mumbles, and mac sighs.

dennis’ eyes start to drift shut, and mac is getting closer to his ear, “oh, no you don’t. stay awake for me, okay, den?”

dennis nods his head, struggling to keep his eyes open. mac carefully lifts dennis up, struggling for a moment, before resolving to giving dennis a piggy back ride. mac decides on dennis’ bedroom as the best place to go.

mac sets dennis down on his bed, sitting him upright, propped up against a few pillows. when mac lets go, dennis whines, but mac shushes him in what he hopes is a soothing tone. 

“i’m gonna make you something to eat, just something light, so i’ll be right back, okay?”

dennis whines again and then coughs. mac pats his head once before heading to the kitchen. on his way there, he stops in the bathroom to check something. he shouldn’t have been so stupid, but he’s been so busy with the bar and the coming out thing that he forgot to check dennis’ medications. the weekly pill container is empty except for tomorrow’s, which is a good sign, until he opens up the medicine cabinet and sees the prescription bottles full. mac sighs and grabs two pills out of the containers.

mac decides scrambled eggs and toast is good. he doubts dennis’ stomach will be able to handle anything heavy. as he’s whisking the eggs, he crushes up the pills and mixes them in, adding a little extra milk to mask the taste. he finishes quickly and proceeds to carry the plate of food to dennis’ bedroom. dennis, thankfully, is still awake, just a little out of it.

“i brought you something light, so you can eat it and it’ll be okay.”

dennis hums in appreciation then opens his mouth like a baby bird. mac sighs again for probably the tenth time that night, and begins to scoop some of the eggs onto the fork. 

after finishing the eggs, dennis’ eyes are brighter, but there’s still toast to go through.

“i didn’t put butter on it, don’t worry,” mac states after dennis glares at the toast and that satisfies dennis and he opens his mouth again.

mac leans forward with the toast in hand and sticks it out to dennis’ waiting mouth. the toast is dry, but dennis eats it all, chewing slowly and with precision. he eats that last bite by grazing his teeth against mac’s fingers and mac flushes a pretty pink.

it’s in these moments, dennis realizes mac may need dennis, but dennis also needs mac. it’s something instinctual, their relationship- something like soulmates, not that he’d ever say that out loud. 

mac gets up to get rid of the plate and dennis reaches up to grab his wrist. 

“hey, can you maybe stay here tonight?” dennis whispers.

“i live here?” mac states and questions at once.

“no, no, like-” dennis pauses then pats the bed, “here.”

“oh. oh. um yeah, of course dennis, just let me put the plate in the sink and i’ll, um, i will be right back,” mac stumbles out the doorway.

dennis readjusts himself to a better sleeping position (curled up on his side), and closes his eyes, but makes sure he’s not asleep until mac gets back. mac comes back a few moments later, the bed dipping and creaking slightly as he crawls in under the covers next to dennis.

“dennis?”

dennis pretends to be asleep. mac knows dennis isn’t, but pretends along anyways. mac scoots closer but doesn’t do anything. soon enough, dennis really begins to fall asleep, but he feels it right before he’s out, the touch of a pair of lips at the nape of his neck, and then he’s out.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you soooooo much for reading!


End file.
